1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modular jack that receives a modular plug and has light emitting diodes (LEDs).
2. Description of the Related Art
A modular jack having light emitting diodes is generally used for telephone equipment or local area network (LAN). Such a modular jack is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,157.
As shown in FIG. 4, the modular jack 1 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,7000,157, comprises a housing 3 having a cavity 2 in a front face thereof for a modular plug (not shown), a predetermined number of terminals 4 arranged in the cavity, a fixing hole 5 provided in a peripheral wall of the housing 3, an LED 6 fitted in the fixing hole 5, and an LED connection terminal 7 buried in a rear side of the fixing hole 5.
The LED 6 comprises a thin rectangular display portion 8 and a pair of bar-shaped legs 9 extending rearwardly from the display portion 8. The LED 6 is installed in the fixing hole horizontally such that a front end 10 of the display portion 8 projects from the housing 3. The LED connection terminal 7 comprises a clamp 11 for holding the leg 9, which contacts with side faces 12 of the leg 9. The LED connection terminal 7 further comprises a pair of connection pieces 14 extending downwardly from a rear part of the clamp 11. A lower portion 15 of the connection piece 14 projects from the housing 3 and is connected to a circuit board (not shown).
In order to fix the LED 6 to the housing 3, the LED 6 is press-fitted to the fixing hole 5 from a front side of the housing 3 so that the legs 9 are held in the clamp 11. To remove the LED 6, it is pulled out by holding the front end 10 of the display portion 8 by a tool such as a plier.
However, the position of the modular jack 1 is restricted to such a position that the LED connection terminal 7 is provided, because the modular jack 1 is connected to the circuit board through the LED connection terminal 7 buried in the housing 3. Otherwise, the position of the circuit board is required to be changed to an area where the modular jack 1 is placed. Also, it is difficult to connect the modular jack 1 to a circuit board because the LED connection terminal 7 is fixed to the housing, resulting in the low work efficiency. The complicated structure of the LED connection terminal 7 makes it difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost. In addition, it requires an extensive design change of the LED connection terminal 7 to change the horizontal arrangement of the LED 6 to vertical arrangement, which decreases the freedom in arrangement of the LED.
Moreover, a projection part is formed on side face 12 of the leg 9 during manufacturing so that there is the risk that connection between the leg 9 and the clamp 11 is made through the projection. Consequently, the connection therebetween is not stable, reducing the electrical reliability.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a modular jack capable of increasing the arrangement freedom of modular jack and the LED, reducing the manufacturing cost, and improving the reliability.
A modular jack according to the invention comprises at least one light emitting diode (LED) that is connected to a predetermined circuit board through a lead.
Preferably, the connection between the LED and the lead is made by a connection terminal. The connection terminal may be a crimping terminal, which is crimped on the lead wire.
The modular jack comprises a housing having at least one LED contact portion for preventing rearward movement of the LED and terminal contact portions for preventing forward movement of the connection terminal.
With such a structure it is possible to improve the arrangement freedom of the modular jack and the LED, reduce the manufacturing cost, and improve an electrical reliability.